Ruling Alphas: Shifter Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  “I’m parked round here,” he said, nodding toward the back part of Jagger’s building.

  Raven followed him toward the end of the block. She was a bit upset about the change of plans for tonight. She wasn’t likely to get her surprise this way, and that meant she wasn’t going to be able to move in with Jagger officially tonight. He wasn’t going to ask her to move in with him in front of other people, she didn’t think, although if he did, she would still be more than happy to say yes.

  She understood why Jagger had agreed to change their plans at such short notice, though. Even if Jagger never got to take over the tribe because he had chosen to stay with her over searching for his one true mate, he was still a part of the royal family of warlocks and witches and that meant he still had a certain duty to behave correctly, so when high-up members of the tribe asked him to dine with them, he couldn’t really refuse without a good reason.

  “Raven?” Lee said, pulling her out of her head. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, why?” Raven said with a frown.

  “That’s my car,” he said, nodding toward a red, sporty-looking car. “I told you twice and you just kept on walking.”

  “I’m sorry,” Raven said, smiling and shaking her head. “I was a million miles away.”

  She walked back toward the car as Lee unlocked it. They both got in and Lee pulled away.

  “You’re not nervous about this, are you?” he asked.

  Raven didn’t want to tell him the truth—that she had thought Jagger was going to ask her to move in with him tonight and she was upset about that lost opportunity rather than being nervous about the dinner. She wasn’t overly nervous about meeting Gerri and Baker—most of the high-ranking tribe members she had met had been nice enough and she saw no reason these two would be different. However, one thing was bothering her, and she decided to use that as an excuse for her strange behavior.

  “I guess I am a little bit nervous,” Raven smiled. “I’m worried I’m not exactly dressed for a formal dinner.”

  Lee smiled and shook his head.

  “You’re fine,” he said. “It’s nothing formal. It will just be me, my parents, and you and Jagger.”

  “Okay, well, if you’re sure,” Raven said.

  “I am,” Lee smiled.

  He kept driving until they left the center of the city behind and began heading through the green belt area.

  “Do your parents live out of state?” Raven asked.

  “No, not quite,” Lee smiled. “They live on an estate just along here.”

  “One of the mansions?” Raven asked.

  Lee nodded and smiled a tight little smile.

  “I try to avoid saying that. It always makes me feel uncomfortable, like I’m showing off or something,” he admitted.

  “It’s hardly showing off here,” Raven laughed. “I was the one who said it, not you.”

  “Fair enough,” Lee agreed.

  He turned and began to drive down a long, winding road within a private walled estate. Raven peered out of the windshield, waiting for the mansion to appear in sight. When it did, she wasn’t disappointed.

  “Wow,” she breathed.

  “It’s quite something, isn’t it?” Lee smiled. “Although it’s totally unnecessary, of course. I mean, who really needs that much space unless it’s like a boarding school or something? There’s only the two of them living here alone since the last of my sisters moved out two years ago. And even when all four of us were still at home, we hardly needed a house that size.”

  “I’d feel like I was going to get lost every time I went to the bathroom if I lived in a place that big,” Raven admitted with a soft laugh. “But I guess it’s just what people get used to, right?”

  “Right,” Lee said. They got out of the car and he glanced at Raven over the top of it. “People don’t really like change, do they?”

  “Oh, not at all,” Raven agreed. “They like what they’re used to. Nothing new or different.”

  “Exactly. Because that way, when everything is familiar and normal, they feel safe,” Lee said.

  He turned from Raven and beckoned to her, leading her toward the mansion doors. He unlocked them and pushed them open, standing back and gesturing for Raven to enter first. Raven smiled and stepped inside. She looked around at the huge and airy entrance way and then Lee was closing the door and ushering her down the hallway that spread out in front of her.

  They passed several doors and finally, when they were almost at the end of the hallway, Lee spoke up.

  “You want the next door on your right,” he said.

  “Thanks,” Raven said.

  She pushed the next door on her right open and stepped inside the room behind it. The room was empty and she turned back to Lee with a frown, not sure what was happening. Lee stepped in behind her and she figured she must have to go through the door on the wall opposite her. She opened her mouth to ask Lee if that was right, but she closed it again when he waved his hands in front of himself and Raven felt herself being pushed backwards although Lee hadn’t touched her. It was such a strange feeling, like the very air itself was pushing Raven along.

  She tried to step forward, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even stop herself from moving. The pressure that was pushing on her wasn’t painful, but it was too strong to resist. She found herself pressed against the wall at the back of the room and cuffs sprang from the wall as Lee kept waving his hands. The cuffs snapped closed around Raven’s ankles and wrists.

  “What the fuck?” Raven demanded, turning her head to the left and the right, looking at the cuffs in complete and utter confusion.

  “I’m sorry, Raven,” Lee said, walking toward her. “But this had to be done. I hope you understand.”

  “I don’t,” Raven said. “Not even a little bit.”

  Lee reached her and began to run his hands over her body. She started to shrink back from his touch, although there really wasn’t anywhere for her to go with her back already pressed against the wall. Lee shook his head and he tutted at Raven.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m looking for your cell phone, that’s all,” he said.

  “It’s in my handbag,” Raven said.

  If he was telling the truth about wanting her cell phone, he was obviously going to keep looking until he found it, and she would rather he didn’t have his hands all over her. He stepped back and checked in her handbag, nodding when he saw the cell phone.

  “Good. You were honest with me. I guess I will do the same for you,” he said. “Firstly, in case it isn’t obvious, my parents are out of state and Jagger isn’t here for dinner. Don’t worry, though, you’ll still get dinner. I intend to look after you properly. You’ll be well fed and comfortable.”

  “Comfortable? Are you kidding me?” Raven said, pulling her arms forward so the cuffs rattled, reminding him that she was cuffed to a wall.

  “You won’t have to wear those all of the time. Once I leave the room, they’ll release you and if you go through that door to your left, you’ll find a lounge, a bathroom, and a small bedroom,” Lee said.

  “Okay,” Raven said. “That sounds better than being stuck against this wall, I guess. But I don’t understand what’s going on here. Help me out. Who are you really?”

  “I really am Lee, son of Gerri and Baker,” Lee said. “And what’s going on is simple enough. It’s what we talked about earlier. People don’t like change, Raven. They fear it. Myself included. But I am different from most people, because instead of hanging back and letting my fear control me, I choose to face it and solve the problem before it really becomes one.”

  “I’m sorry. I still don’t get it,” Raven said trying and failing to work out what exactly Lee wanted with her. She didn’t want to antagonize him while she was a prisoner here, but he seemed happy enough to talk and she decided to risk asking him for some more information. She had to know why she was here. If she knew that, maybe she could work out how to get away. “What exactly do you
want with me?”

  “It’s not so much about you as it is about the baby you are carrying,” Lee said. “The idea of a hybrid baby with unknown powers, perhaps even untold powers. I’m sorry but it’s too much of a risk to let you have that baby and then maybe disappear somewhere where we can’t keep an eye on its progress. You will remain here until you have the baby and then you’ll be let go once I have disposed of the baby.”

  “Disposed of the baby?” Raven said, her eyes widening. “You mean…?”

  She couldn’t bring herself to say the last few words of the sentence, but Lee knew exactly what she meant and he nodded.

  “Yes. I mean killed. If it’s any consolation, I will make it as quick and painless for the baby as I possibly can,” he said.

  “You won’t get away with this,” Raven snarled, ignoring Lee’s assurances. “Jagger will find me.”

  “Of course he won’t,” Lee smiled. He held Raven’s handbag up for her to see, reminding her he had her cell phone. “Not once he gets the text telling him how you’ve changed your mind about all of this and you’re leaving him. And the city.”

  “He won’t believe that,” Raven said.

  “Sure he will. And if he doesn’t, it’s not like he’s going to suspect that you’re here, is it?” Lee said. “I mean, why would he even think you might be here?”

  Raven knew he was right about that one. She had one hope left. The hope that Silver was behind all of this and that he relented and ended up letting her go free before she had the baby.

  9

  Jagger checked his watch. Raven should have definitely been here by now. She must have had to stay late to finish something up. It didn’t feel right, though. Any time Raven had been delayed before, she had always called Jagger and warned him that she was running late.

  He tried to call her, but her cell phone just rang and rang, eventually throwing him through to her voicemail. He didn’t bother leaving a message. She would see the missed call and call him back anyway and all he would say if he left a voicemail was for her to call him back.

  He thought for a moment and then he opened up his Google app on his cell phone and Googled the company Raven worked for. He found the number for her office building and called through.

  “Mason and Lockhart. Carole speaking, how may I help you?” a woman’s voice said when the call was answered.

  “Umm, hi,” Jagger said. “Can I speak to Raven Zayne please?”

  “Please hold,” the voice said.

  Jagger waited while music played in his ear and then the music stopped.

  “Raven?” Jagger said.

  “I’m sorry,” the receptionist said. “Ms. Zayne appears to have left for the day. Would you like to leave a message and I’ll have her call you first thing tomorrow?”

  “No, thank you,” Jagger said. He thought for a moment. “Can you tell me what time she left? This is Jagger, her partner. She was supposed to come here to my place straight from work and she hasn’t arrived and I’m a little worried about her.”

  “Hang on one second. I don’t know off the top of my head what time she left, but I might be able to find out for you,” the woman said.

  Jagger waited anxiously as the music played again. The woman came back on the line a couple of minutes later.

  “She left at the normal time, sir. Around five,” she said. “Maybe a couple of minutes after.”

  “Okay. Thank you,” Jagger said.

  He ended the call and thought for a moment. Even if she was walking to his place, she should have been there by now.

  He thought he was maybe overreacting a little bit, but his instincts had kicked into overdrive and the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that something bad had to have happened to Raven. His senses wouldn’t be playing up like this if everything was fine and Raven was just running a bit late.

  He thought for a moment longer, knowing he needed to act but not sure what to do. He finally made his decision and, grabbing his keys and his cell phone, he ran from the apartment down to his car. He would go to his parents’ place and see if he could persuade his father to do a locator spell on Raven. Only the high warlock and the high witch were powerful enough to do locator spells from what he had been told and Jagger could see no reason why they wouldn’t help him.

  As he got into his car, his cell phone vibrated and he snatched it from his pocket. It was a text message from Raven. He opened it and read it quickly.

  “I’m sorry to do this over a text message, but I’ve decided that you and I aren’t going to work long-term. You should find your one true mate and take over the tribe like you are destined to do. Our child isn’t safe here, Jagger. People talk. I am leaving the country and making sure I go someplace where no one knows me so that our baby and I will be safe. Please don’t attempt to find me or you will be putting our child in further danger. -Raven”

  Jagger read the text message through again and then he put his car into gear and pulled away, the tires squealing on the road surface as he sped toward his parents’ house. He knew for sure he had been right about something bad happening to Raven now. Someone had taken her. He didn’t know who or why, but he knew someone had. Someone who wanted to make sure he didn’t come looking for her.

  He knew Raven hadn’t sent that text message. She always laughed at him when he texted her and signed off with his initial or his name, telling him that his name was in her contacts list and a sign-off was unnecessary. There was no way she would have changed that now. Jagger had to find Raven before it was too late. Whoever had her must want to harm her or they wouldn’t be going to such lengths to keep him from looking for her.

  Jagger arrived at his parents’ place, pulled up outside the front door, and jumped from his car, not stopping to shut the car door behind him, let alone lock it. He ran into the house and found his parents eating dinner together in the dining room. Silver was with them and all three of them looked up at him in surprise when he came bursting into the room.

  “Mom. Dad. I need one of you to do a locator spell. Please. Raven is missing and I have a feeling something bad has happened to her,” Jagger said.

  “Honey, you know we can’t do that,” Jagger’s mom said.

  “Of course you can. You’re the high witch of the United States,” Jagger said desperately. “Please, I need your help. Raven is in danger.”

  “Jagger, you don’t understand. I’m not saying we won’t help you. I’m saying we can’t help you. Locator spells only work between true soulmates,” Jagger’s mom said.

  Jagger moved to the table and sat down heavily in a chair before his knees gave way.

  “Okay,” he said, thinking out loud. “Then I need someone who can trace the location of a cell phone.”

  “Jagger, breathe,” his father said. “Clearly you’re worried about Raven. Why?”

  Jagger explained about her being late coming over to his place from work and then about him making the call to her office, and finally, about the text message to him from Raven’s cell phone.

  “I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I know that message wasn’t her. And I can sense that something is wrong,” Jagger said.

  His father nodded.

  “That’s what I figured you’d say. That it was instinct. Jagger, you don’t need to trace that cell phone and you don’t need your mom or me to do that locator spell for you. I don’t care if Raven is a vampire, not a witch. She’s your one true mate, Jagger. The fact that you can sense when she’s in danger proves it. Try the locator spell,” he said.

  “But…” Jagger started.

  “It’ll take minutes to try it. And if it doesn’t work, we’ll find you someone who can trace the cell phone,” Jagger’s mom said. “I think your dad is onto something here.”

  “Fine,” Jagger said, figuring it would be quicker to just do it and show them that it wouldn’t work than it would be to argue the matter with them. “What do I do?”

  “Close your eyes and picture Raven in your mind,�
�� Jagger’s mom said. He did as she said. “Now, really focus on only Raven. Let the background around her fade away and look deep into her eyes.”

  Jagger followed the instruction again. He focused only on Raven’s gorgeous eyes, hoping and praying that he got to see them again.

  “Right,” Jagger’s mom said. “Now let your vision pan back out and you will see Raven’s location in the background behind her image.”

  Jagger did as she said and his jaw dropped when he got her location. He didn’t know if he was more surprised that the spell had worked and it was really possible that Raven was his one true mate, or that he recognized the location the spell had revealed.

  “I don’t think it worked,” Jagger said, shaking his head in defeat as he realized why the location was so crazy. The spell hadn’t worked. “It’s trying to tell me that Raven is at Baker and Gerri’s place. Why would she be there?”

  “She might be,” Silver said, speaking for the first time since Jagger had come into the room. “Gerri and Baker are out of the state somewhere and Lee, one of their sons, is meant to be looking after the place for them.”

  “I know who Lee is,” Jagger said. “And why he might be at Gerri and Baker’s place. But why would he have Raven there?”

  “Because he’s afraid, Jagger,” Silver sighed. “I’ve heard talk within the tribe about people being worried about the idea of a hybrid baby. I figured the baby might be in danger once it was born, but I didn’t consider this happening. At least not until you mentioned where the locator spell was showing you. My guess is that Lee, one of the more vocal tribe members, has decided to take matters into his own hands. And clearly he, too, has worked out that once the baby is born, you’ll have it well guarded. My guess is that he’s taken Raven and he’s going to kill the baby once it’s born.”

  “Fuck,” Jagger said, jumping up. “I suppose in a weird way, that makes sense. Lee always was a bit of a loose cannon and if he got a bee in his bonnet about something, he always had to go jumping in with both feet without stopping to consider any of the facts.”